What Really Matters

Talking about the MCSE program and the perceived value
of the title is a minefield. Some complaints have proven
to be valid, while others are, shall we say, misguided.
Microsoft is clear about for whom the MCSE program was
designed: For network professionals, Microsoft offers
the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) credential.
MCSEs are qualified to effectively plan, implement, maintain,
and support information systems in a wide range of computing
environments using the Microsoft Windows NT Server and
the Microsoft BackOffice integrated family of server products.

What tends to get some MCSEs bent out of shape is that
Microsoft makes no measure of the skill set of an individual
before that person gets certified. So, it doesnt
matter to the company whether you have 20 years of grueling
labor in the trenches or if youre a parking lot
attendant who wants to try a different career. If you
have the time, money, and will, you too can get this certification
and use it to join the growing legions of IT personnel.

Heated arguments (to be polite) often break out between
these two groups: Those with experience in the field who
had high hopes for the MCSE designation complain that
these inexperienced candidates have devalued their hard
work. Employees, its claimed, should be able to
tell just by looking at your resume that you know what
youre doingthe MCSE should designate a high
standard, guaranteed. The newbies wonder what the experienced
guys are worried about. There are jobs for everyone. Microsoft
laid down the rules; they followed the rules and should
be able to enjoy the benefits, period.

So wheres the middle ground?

For the first group, it must be made clear that the MCSE
is getting easier to achieve. In the early days of the
program it wasnt a matter of whether or not you
managed to achieve some hands-on experienceyou positively
had to. Thats because there were no study guides
for most of the exams, just objectives. So you loaded
the product, played with it as much as you could, and
took the test.

Microsoft doesnt publish fail rates on their testsbut
I bet the reasons for failures have changed dramatically
since the inception of the program. In the early days,
even if you had more than a few years of experience on
Windows NT Server, you could be blindsided by a question
from some dark area that you had yet to master. Not to
say that doesnt happen now, but its less likely.
There are multiple guides for just about every exam, plus
a boatload of Web sites offering tips (and sometimes none-too-subtle
hints) on the contents of the examsso being blindsided
is less likely. These days its more likely that
an inexperienced candidate fails because he or she has
underestimated the depth of the questions.

It should also be made clear that Microsoft has never
stated that all MCSEs are created equal. It isnt
the business of the certification program to say whether
youre a good MCSE or a not-so-good
MCSE. Microsoft simply lays down the basic requirements
needed to be certified and lets you go for it.

The second crowd should understand that the first three
words in Microsofts MCSE definition are the most
importantFor network professionals.
Being a professional means a lot of things to a lot of
people, but few would argue that integrity doesnt
play a big part in it. Pretending you know something when
you dont can be hazardous to your job, to the jobs
of others, and to the health of the business youre
working for.

No one wants to be a slave to his or her employer, and
the way you avoid that is to have complete and utter confidence
in your own abilitiesbe good! If you take the tests
at such a pace that you have forgotten everything about
a test the day after you passed it, then you should reconsider
your program. No one is saying youre going to remember
every nuance of the software at hand, but a general knowledge
should certainly be at your fingertips. If it isnt,
youre likely to be embarrassed or worsefired
from a job when a critical juncture comes to pass and
you cant step up to the plate.

If youre new to this industry, the marrow of your
learning will come after you get your first jobnot
before.

Regardless of how we achieve our certifications, were
likely to meet at some pointat conferences, on tech
support calls, or amid a network outage. When these instances
occur, there wont be time to ponder how someone
got certifiedonly what we can do for each other
today.